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Month: December 2016

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:14 KJV

Have you heard the Christmas song, “This Christmas“? It goes, “This Christmas will be a very special Christmas for me…”

Each Christmas, we remember all that’s transpired since the last Christmas. For some, it’s a time of happiness with loved ones, and for others, they’re feeling more like “Blue Christmas”.

From Scripture, we can find several threads that connect to the kind of atmosphere we choose and the type of Christmas we can decide to have.

A Christmas of peace. When we are at peace, we choose to embrace tranquility and trust God and His hand in our lives, regardless of our circumstances. Christ’s coming is the biggest gift and reason to be at peace we could ever have. The earthly life of Jesus wasn’t marked by a lack of strife, but it was marked by peace, and ours can be the same, if we so choose. “…on earth peace…” (Luke 2:14)

A Christmas of joy. We can choose joy for the great things God has put into our lives. No one has perfect lives, and some years highlight that more than others, but when we choose a lifestyle of joy, we recognize all of the amazing blessings God has given to us. “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:10b-11, NIV)

A Christmas of hope. This year more than others, I’ve heard a lot of people deciding to hope for the good God has for them, and that makes my heart rejoice! Truly, when we zoom out, so to speak, and take a good look at our lives, it is so obvious that our problems aren’t that big and our reason for hope is so huge. “And his name will be the hope of all the world.” (Matthew 12:21, NLT)

A Christmas of good will. We can choose to believe the best of others- be friendly, helpful, and forgiving, never forgetting all that we’ve been forgiven of. The birth of Jesus is the first part in the salvation story, and as much as we need it, how can we not give the same? “…good will towards men.” (Luke 2:14)

May your Christmas be defined by choosing peace, joy, hope, and good will in your life. May broken relationships be restored, pride be set aside, hope be embraced, peace be chosen, and joy be overflowing.

From your friends here at Canvas & Table, may you have a very blessed and Merry Christmas.

What makes a gal, born in a traditional hospital setting herself, consider home birth?

Before I share my personal reasons for choosing this route, I would like to clearly state that I in no way wish to disparage the many hardworking and well-educated doctors and nurses that are in our nation. They have my utmost respect! Additionally, my intention is not to indicate that home birth is the only right way. It’s not for everyone — and it doesn’t have to be! That’s a completely personally decision and I respect each mama and the avenue they have chosen. My sole desire is to share a brief glimpse into my own experiences and to satisfy some of the everyday curiosity I encounter when people learn that I birth my babies at home.

I didn’t go into my first pregnancy with a set birth plan in mind. I was born in a traditional hospital setting and I knew several women that I considered peers who had recently chosen home birth. Perhaps the most important thing I could suggest would be open-mindedness. As I did my research, I came to the conclusion for the method of care that I felt was the best fit for myself and my baby. Some of those considerations were….

Age and Health History. I was 22 years old when I got pregnant with my first child. Being young and healthy (really a completely nondescript medical history), my chances statistically for complications were very low. That opened up my options for prenatal care and the actual labor/delivery substantially.

Research. A lot of mystery and misconception surrounds home birth. There are absolutely cases that render it a less safe option, but for the mother with no complications, it’s a great option. Over the summer I attended a premier of a home birth documentary highlighting the pregnancies and home births of more than half a dozen women who were in the medical field (both doctors and L&D nurses). They’ve assembled a lengthy set of websites and articles that lay out the statistics of home birth. Instead of rehashing those numbers here, you can view the entire list on their website (additional information here as well). It’s a great place to get started on researching the safety.

Midwives and Their Training. While the stereotypical image of a midwife includes something like an old grandma in the backwoods, modern midwives are incredibly intelligent individuals. There are a range of certifications and the requirements vary by state, but generally the individual must have completed a 3 year academic course, 4 years of hands-on training and have attended a minimum number of births as an assistant. All in all, this gives them a well-rounded education with a specialty in pregnancy and birth.

Customized Care. With a midwife, you have standard prenatal care: monitoring Baby’s heart rate, growth, position, and overall wellbeing, as well as frequent monitoring of Mom’s vitals and overall health. A bonus that appeals to me is access to the extensive knowledge that a midwife offers for nutrition and alternative medicine. The result is comprehensive care for mother and baby, particular to the needs of that pregnancy.

Contingency Plan. Perhaps one of the most common concerns I hear voiced to me about home birth is the question of what happens if something goes wrong during labor. Mom and Baby are under close watch during labor and delivery. If anything begins to take a turn, a good midwife quickly makes arrangements for more involved medical care. (I’ve heard both midwives and L&D nurses in my area describe the working relationship they have with each other as one of the best in the nation.)

Familiarity. One of the biggest appeals to me is that the midwife who has seen me from week 12 of my pregnancy on will absolutely be the one who delivers my baby. In addition, the assistant midwife is often introduced to the mama before labor ever begins, adding to the familiarity with the birth team.

Home Sweet Home. Your first contractions are at home, you transition at home, you push at home, deliver at home, get all cleaned up at home, and then crawl into your own comfortable bed with your cuddly newborn when your hard day’s work is complete.

That’s all well and good… but have you actually HAD a home birth to speak with any experience? Yes’m, I have! Twice. My firstborn was delivered in my living room and my second son was born in our bedroom. Both very different experiences and both equally endearing, successful, safe, and peaceful. Our third child is due within a month and if all goes as planned, we anticipate his arrival at home, as well.What all is involved in prenatal care when choosing home birth? In my experience, it’s included lab work (both for basic OB panels and for addressing hormonal imbalances), sonograms (at least one at about 20 weeks to do a full anatomy scan of baby), frequent prenatal check-ups (something like 12-15 exams before delivery), and more.What is it like preparing to have a baby in your home? In addition to the usuals (i.e. setting up the crib, washing and organizing baby clothes, buying hundreds of diapers), your midwife will give you a list of things to have rounded up for the actual birth. In my case, my midwife tells me where online to order my actual birth supplies, plus a few general things (like lots of towels) to have in a common spot.Is it messy? I’ll wager that birth in any setting is “messy”, but as far as any lasting evidence… No, it’s not messy. Within a couple hours of giving birth, any lasting evidence (aside from a snuggly newborn) is completely gone. My team of midwives are angels – cleaning Baby and myself up, scrubbing bath tubs, starting loads of laundry, disposing of used supplies, etc.

Here’s the bottom line… Home birth isn’t for everyone, but I think it’s an option that everyone should research and give value to. Birth in a home or in a hospital bed is miraculous and memorable!

Leave a comment below and tell us…. Where did you birth your babies and what did you love about the experience?

In the first part of this series, I mentioned a few rules of thumb to simplify gift giving. Our family loosely follows this one:
“Something they want,
Something they need,
Something to wear,
and Something to read”.

At the request of a reader, I’m sharing what gifts we are giving our two boys. As I said, we follow the 4 Gifts rule loosely. We’ve tweaked it to fit our family better – focusing a little more heavily on books and movies this year. We’re focusing on various media because Baby Boy #3 is due shortly after Christmas and books, movies, and music are ways we’ve found to easily connect and spend time with our boys. We’re also seeking to be very intention this year in giving our boys quality Christian materials.

Our boys are both toddlers. Our oldest, Nolan, is 3 1/2 years old (he’ll be 4 in March) and Asher, our youngest is 2 (Practically. His birthday is 10 days after Christmas.). Nolan is our baby philosopher – he can be occupied for house building and studying how things work, enjoys reading and asking dozens of questions per book, and is our deep thinker. Asher is equally bright- but completely opposite of his brother. Asher is always on the move, finding abundant joy in well-planned antics, dancing the moment the beat drops, and running, walking, and climbing.

What We’re Giving Our 3 1/2 Year Old (Nolan’s Gifts)–Lego Duplo Truck & Excavator Building Set – Each boy is getting one toy/toy set. Nolan has really been enjoying Duplos in recent months – and he loves construction vehicles. All Duplo sets are compatible with each other, so we’re adding to his collection with this fun set.
–The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden – One of our greatest delights as parents is teaching our boys God’s Word in a way that is understandable by children – without losing the depth and richness. Since Nolan’s birth the Jesus Storybook Bible has been a family favorite! It’s falling apart – literally – so each boy is getting a new Bible storybook. The Biggest Story is technically a little old for Nolan, but it will give us room for lots of discussion and room to grow into. The way the text is written is enthralling – and will definitely capture the attention of my thinker and wild imagination boy! Plus, the illustrations are colorful and captivating.
–Theo 5 DVD Set – Both boys will receive a movie or movie set. We have found a variety of educational shows that they enjoy on Amazon Prime, so we’re focusing on giving them DVDs this Christmas that are Gospel-rich. The Theo series is perfect…. classic Disney-style animation, beautiful soundtrack, solid theology, hymns, and condensed (but true to the Book) Bible stories, all neatly packed into 10-15 minute episodes that my big boy will be drawn into. This 5 DVD includes over 4 1/2 hours of these episodes.
–The Ology – Nolan especially enjoys listening to music in the van, so we’re giving him this new album from Sovereign Grace Music. The Ology walks through the high points of Christianity track by track, covering the concepts of the sovereignty of God, the reality of sin, the provision of a Savior, the return of Christ and more.

What We’re Giving Our 2 Year Old (Asher’s Gifts)
–Gas ‘n Go Mower – Asher loves helping with household chores and he loves push toys, so this toy was a perfect fit. Complete with gas canister, knobs and pulls, and fun sounds, this will keep him playing happily for a long time.–Big Picture Story Bible – For his “something to read” gift, Asher will receive the Big Picture Story Bible. I like the look of this one – colorful pictures and simple (but yet meaningful) text will hold the attention of my mover and shaker.–Praise Baby: Born to Worship – The Praise Baby series is similar to the now hard-to-find Baby Einstein series. Each DVD features fun colors, shapes, and pictures all set to calm praise and worship music. The DVD gives several playback options for the music: instrumental, children singing, or an adult vocalist.

Something to Wear For this category, we have traditionally given our boys matching Christmas pajamas. They will receive these as wrapped gifts on Christmas Eve. This time, I bought their PJs at Target on a buy-one-get-one sale several weeks ago. This is also a great way to slash the “something they need” category, too, by keeping them set on warm pajamas that fit their ever growing bodies.

StockingsWe’re following a similar strategy as the 4 Gifts for the boys’ stockings (although I have no cute rhyme… ha!).
-This year they are both receiving Melissa & Doug Water Wows as their big stocking gift. Nolan’s is car themed and Asher’s features ocean creatures.
-I’m splitting up a special set of socks between the two of them (they are close enough in size that their sock size is the same!).
–Snacks. We’re going smart on this one and going easy on the sugary treats… Did you know that kids find other snacks to be special, too? 😉 The boys will each get some mini Larabar snacks and Apple Go-Go Squeeze pouches.
–Small toys. Asher has a stuffed puppy that has a special place in his heart. We’ve decided to give him the same puppy in another color as a fun stocking surprise. For Nolan, we picked up a couple Thomas Minis Mystery Trains.

We’re excited about the gifts we’re giving our boys… they are chosen intentionally and won’t add a lot of clutter to our home.

Leave a comment below and tell us what carefully chosen gifts you will give your children this year!

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Should you order through these links, we will receive a referral commission off your purchase from Amazon. Don’t worry- this does not affect the purchase price of the product. Thank you for helping support Canvas & Table and helping us create fresh content!

In our last post, we gave a few suggestions for simplifying the Christmas season with young children in the house. Today, I want to follow that up with some ideas that are fun, simple, require very little expense or preparation, and build loads of fun traditions and memories.

1. Do some form of Advent with them. I realize this is the third time (at least!) I’ve mentioned Advent this season, but it is so essential for keeping the season in perspective. We’ve given several suggestions on our Advent post. Maybe you have young toddlers or even babies in your home. I recently heard a fantastic suggestion for Advent-ing even with them! Take a couple minutes each night and sing simple Christmas carols, such as Away in a Manger or Silent Night. This can slip right in to a bed-time routine, but keeps the Christmas Story in front of them.

2. Have a special baking day. If you have little ones that are old enough (personally, I feel like the 3 1/2-4 year old range really opens up options for activities together), set aside a day to tackle one or two special baking activities. If you need something similar, why not create little Christmas baskets for your neighbors with packets of hot cocoa, disposable hot drink cups, wrapped candy canes, etc.? — all things little hands can easily put in a basket.

3. Decorate a small tree with them — just for their room. There are some adorable little Christmas trees out there. My boys had SO much fun picking out a blue tinsel tree this year, choosing a few non-breakable ornaments, and decorating their tree. It’s a fun time to relax a little bit on your perfect Christmas tree decoration standards and just enjoy watching them go to town on their little tree.

4. Set aside an evening to look at Christmas lights. You can definitely go for a drive in nearby neighborhoods to look at lights, but I’d also suggest just strolling through your own neighborhood… This might be a great alternative for youngsters who don’t do well in the car or for those kiddos who are still rear-facing in their car seat.

6. Go caroling to your neighbors. We caroled with my in-laws last Christmas season… just a few neighbors on their street. It’s a fun evening and people really do appreciate you taking a moment to make them feel special.

7. Christmas PJs! One of our favorite little traditions is to choose new pajamas for our kids to give them on Christmas Eve. (You could give their PJs to them earlier in the season, too.) This doesn’t have to be overcomplicated or expensive…. This year our boys are getting matching pajama sets…. that I bought during a “buy one, get one” sale.

8. Collect a stash of Christmas books. We have a small stack of Christmas books that we have out only during December. Some families wrap their Christmas books, unwrapping one each day leading up to Christmas. I love that idea, but this year we’re choosing to keep our books available in a special “Christmas book basket” for simplicity. Again, this doesn’t have to be expensive! All except a couple of our books were purchased at Half Price Books. They have a special holidays shelf in the children’s section, which makes finding great Christmas books easy and inexpensive. Since we intentionally do an Advent program with our boys, most of our Christmas books are purely festive. Some of our favorites are Little Blue Truck’s Christmas, Bear Stays Up for Christmas, Fa La La, and the classic Caldecott medal-winning Polar Express.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Should you order through these links, we will receive a referral commission off your purchase from Amazon. Don’t worry- this does not affect the purchase price of the product. Thank you for helping support Canvas & Table and helping us create fresh content!

We are about to celebrate our fourth Christmas with children in our family! From our short time of experience, I know that it’s a delicate balance of making memories and keeping peace, joy, and sanity. Our culture — especially the “mothers of young children” culture — is obsessed with making each waking moment a Pinterest-worthy occasion. While I absolutely believe that we should make every moment count, I also would suggest that we might make sure we are making it count in the right way.

Over those four Christmas seasons, we’ve slowly gleaned some tips that make this holiday as wonderful and meaningful as it should be, while making an effort to not go overboard on activities and busyness. Your kids are worth the few minutes it’ll take to sit down and evaluate the pace of your holiday season.

1. Age appropriateness. A cursory look at Pinterest quickly overwhelms me with hundreds of “must-do” Christmas activities with children. Crafts, ornaments, printables, bucket lists, Elf on a Shelf, sensory activities, fake snow, and a comprehensive guide to every single Christmas event within a 30 miles radius of your zip code. None of those things are wrong by themselves (in fact, a lot sound like fun to me!), but I would issue a loving word of caution: keep your child’s age in mind. The need for naps and time at home with Mommy do not go away. Their age may not make the newest “must-do” idea the best idea… a moment of honesty and you’ll admit that decorating Christmas cookies with your 10 month old will yield more mess and frustration than memories. Hitting all of the Christmas parades, glamorous light displays, and sitting on the laps of at least 3 Santas is most likely to leave you with a tired and overstimulated todder, rather than a little one with eyes sparkling with wonderment. Keep an eye out for all of those brilliant ideas and then give your self grace to say that it can wait until next year.

2. Quality over quantity. Continuing with the foundation that #1 set, I’d like to encourage you to pick just a few activities and do them well. I’d suggest picking one or two crafts, one or two special outings, and then one or two special things to do with friends. This will keep you from running everyone ragged. You’ll be focusing on making just a few things extra special, rather than filling each moment with wow factors. Fewer busy days and late nights = more rested families that really soak in the special times. And really…. nothing makes my toddlers more excited than the simplicity of a twinkly Christmas tree and a few mystery-filled wrapped gifts. It doesn’t get much more simple – or magical – than that.

3. Shop wisely. I love, LOVE choosing gifts for my children. All the books, all the movies, all the toys, and more, please! It’s just so much fun thinking of what would make them leap for joy on Christmas Day! While the abundance is just plain fun to dream about, we’ve found great joy in simplifying our Christmas giving to our children. There are a few rules of thumb out there that can assist in getting you started with this. Our favorite is the Four Gifts of Christmas. You give your children only four simple gifts: Something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. (Teresa Swanson Anderson has a variation of this that focuses more on gifts of experience.) A couple other methods are giving Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh (something valuable, something spiritual, and something for their physical needs) or the 5 Hands of Christmas (which focuses on experiences, ministry, and the thoughtfulness of handmade gifts).

4. Major on the meaning. If I could give only one suggestion for giving more meaning (all while performing less) to your Christmas season, I would beg you to consider doing a simple Advent program with your children (we have several suggestions here!). What could possibly be more meaningful than a few designated moments, spent each day, preparing their little hearts for Christmas and all of the meaning that it carries? If you do this with your kids, way to go! If you haven’t started anything this year, don’t wait. Jump in with something simple (maybe just reading one story per day for the remaining days of Advent from the Jesus Storybook Bible or Unwrapping the Gift of Christmas). Feed their little souls and focus their minds on the true meaning and you will have the sweetest and most memorable season you could ever hope for.

Stay tuned for part two, where I’ll give some manageable Christmas memory-making suggestions!

Have you found something in particular that has helped make your Christmas season more peaceful or meaningful? Leave a comment below and share it with us!

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Should you order through these links, we will receive a referral commission off your purchase from Amazon. Don’t worry- this does not affect the purchase price of the product. Thank you for helping support Canvas & Table and helping us create fresh content!

“…I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might…” Ephesians 1:16-19 ESV

Hoping is hard work. The act of hope is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “to desire with expectation of obtainment” and “to expect with confidence”. As those whom have gone through long waiting periods know too well, waiting with expectation is a difficult thing to do.

I wrote about waiting recently, and while that in and of itself is a topic for another day, in the wait there must be hope, in order for us to grow and flourish as God intended. As I heard it once said, in painful times, you either become bitter or better, and waiting seasons are a vivid picture of a time when we make the choice to become bitter or better.

A friend recently shared that, in a time of loss, she recognized that God asked of her to give Him her hope, however small. I happened to read this on a very tough day, in a tough week, and in a tough season. Hope & loss often go hand-in-hand – the feeling that you’ve lost or given up something, and whether tangible or not, the emotional journey is deep and arduous. Pain seeks to put out the light of hope by teaching us that hoping can hurt, and if it is just too hard, we can choose to stop hoping and no longer go through the pain of disappointment and emotional suffering.

To be completely honest, it has been a week in which I don’t feel like writing and I haven’t felt a whole lot like hoping, either. Emotions have been deep and wide, but I was reminded of my friend’s words on hope as I came across this Scripture this morning- “…having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you…”. My friend did not reference this Scripture, but her testimony and this Scripture clashed together before me and reminded me, God has called us to hope.

In the original Greek of the New Testament, the word “hope” in this Scripture is the Greek word “elpis”. It comes from the word “elpo”, meaning “to anticipate, welcome” and in and of itself means the “expectation of what is sure (certain)”. (Strong’s) To anticipate and welcome the expectation of what is sure is to put all your cards on the table, so to speak. It is to say, “this is happening and I will wait here, expectantly, until it does”.

Reality is that type of waiting is hard, because it is in our flesh to not want to wait and experience discomfort and the great pain that can sometimes come with it- but it’s what God has called us to, to wait upon Him, and to hope in Him. And hoping in Him is what makes all the difference.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

Many times, when the burden just feels like too much, we’ve stopped waiting in the Lord and relying on Him for our strength to do so. Staying and abiding in the Lord, we receive the strength of the Holy Spirit that is so much greater than we could ever summon on our own. One of my favorite Scriptures is Proverbs 4:25. It says, “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.” (NLT). Oftentimes I’m reminded that I’ve stopped fixing my eyes on Christ when I feel like the burden is just too much.

Scripture calls the hope we have, as Christians, “the riches of His glorious inheritance…and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe” (BSB). Through Christ we have the hope that that thing we are waiting on and believing for breakthrough in is going to happen and come to pass, because of the power we as Christians have been given, if we only believe and hold fast to that belief.

I believe there is power in speaking the Word and calling things that aren’t as through they are. When God gave Abram his new name, Abram chose to share that with other people. In a time when the meanings of names were well-known and recognized, letting people know, “I am now Abraham” and letting new people you meet know, “I am Abraham” would have the same as saying, “I am the father of many nations”. Abraham enacted his faith in God’s calling on his life, years and years and years and decades before the meaning of his name would ever come to pass. He was likely ridiculed and his name would have at least been talked of, due to its meaning, and it was 40 years before the truth of his name became visible to everyone else. It would have been so easy for him to give up on his hope, but He believed and stood firm because He knew God is faithful to His promises.

Whatever you’re going through, God has given you the tools you need to persevere, and what’s more, He has called you to hope. Hope for the “future and a hope” God has given you and the dreams He has placed in your heart. Whatever you’re waiting on, if you’ve read this post this far through, you likely feel a depth of pain in choosing to hope, because it literally is “getting your hopes up”. I believe God has good and not evil for you, and the dreams and vision God has put in you are there for a reason. I encourage you, search Scripture for a promise you can hold on to. Find a Scripture that speaks to your situation and pray that over yourself. Believe that for your reality, not what you see.

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 NLT

I want to believe with you today, whatever you’re hoping for. If you feel comfortable, leave a comment below or send us a message at our Contact page. Hoping is hard work, but we’ve been equipped, and joining together in prayer and persevering for one another truly results in such a blessing when we live in the hope we’ve been called to.

Go deeper:

1. Spend some time meditating on the promises of God. Find your Scripture, tape it on your mirror, make it your phone lock screen, or share with someone that this is the verse you’re believing for in your life.

2. Commit to praying that verse over yourself for the next 30 days.

3. Receive the Holy Spirit’s strengthening for you in this season- and believe that good things, God’s things, are ahead.